Paperlinks Reinvents the Takeout Menu

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/17/11 -- The printed takeout menu has long been a staple of restaurants' marketing efforts. What office or home doesn't have a stack of takeout menus lying around, awaiting frantic perusal by hungry consumers? Takeout menus are useful, but haven't been truly optimized for the smartphone era, until now.

Through its Order Takeout functionality, launched today, Paperlinks modernizes the takeout menu by making it smartphone-interactive. Using the free Paperlinks iPhone app or any QR reader, on-the-go diners can scan Paperlinks-enabled takeout menus and order their food by tapping on their phones.

"We see ordering by smartphone touchscreens as the way of the future," says Hamilton Chan, Founder and CEO of Paperlinks. "Who wants to call in to a noisy restaurant and be put on hold, and risk a miscommunicated order when you can have control over your order with a native app experience instead? With Order Takeout, we aim to give restaurants a simple process for their to-go menus, so they can offer an effortless ordering experience to their customers that allows them to customize their meal and pay all in one step. The printed takeout menu is still a useful tool, and now, it can serve as a visual and physical trigger for a mobile commerce ordering process."

The Order Takeout feature is now part of the Paperlinks mobile offering and web portal and can be easily integrated into existing mobile marketing campaigns. Creating a digital shortcut for to-go ordering, Order Takeout allows restaurants and food establishments to cater to on-the-go diners in an elegant, branded in-app experience.

For diners, getting started is simple -- just scan the QR code located on the printed menu, poster, or other restaurant signage with the Paperlinks iPhone app (or another QR code scanning service) and get instant access to the restaurant's mobile-friendly, interactive menu. From the mobile landing page, which can also be reached via text message, the customer can:

Find daily specials

Select dishes to order

Opt for substitutions or special requests

Specify delivery instructions

Add on a service tip and even

Pay via Paperlinks' Checkout Cart

Orders are sent directly to the participating restaurant in their format of choice -- via email or fax -- to be filled and delivered to the customer without any wait or hassle.

Restaurants interested in offering their patrons this fun and easy ordering option can visit Paperlinks.com to set up a mobile landing site in minutes, populate it with menu offerings and prices, and quickly set-up their billing preferences, including the default tip on orders. Paperlinks also offers a variety of customizable features, from designer QR codes to lead-generation tools, that restaurants can incorporate into their menus and other printed items.

"We see a huge lunch crowd on weekdays, and the dinner hour keeps us on our toes. The biggest hassle for us was the ordering process," said Tony Boon, owner of Pink Pepper Thai Restaurant. "The Paperlinks Order Takeout feature saves us a ton of time, helps with order accuracy, and allows us to collect payment upfront and reach our customers where they are every day -- on their mobile phones. Paired with the custom designer QR code, the whole package makes our full menu accessible to the busy lunch crowd and gives us a head start on their orders. We're going to pass out takeout menus no matter what; now we've made them digitally interactive."

Paperlinks stands out as the leader in creating dynamic marketing and mobile commerce solutions directed at the expanding audience of smartphone consumers. Since opening up its platform seven months ago to businesses and brands, Paperlinks has signed up more than 12,000 customers -- from small, local establishments to brands such as Nestlé and Live Nation's House of Blues®. Businesses looking for strong engagement with consumers can create mobile interfaces tailored to their brand and their customer audience, using Paperlinks' customizable platform and design capabilities.

About PaperlinksPaperlinks' mission is to hyperlink the real world. Using its intuitive web interface, Paperlinks can help businesses quickly generate a Quick Response (QR) barcode or SMS campaign that will serve as a smartphone-readable hyperlink to engaging web content. By using Paperlinks, companies of all sizes can create a highly engaging real world hyperlink and presence on the mobile web in under 5 minutes. These real world links can trigger offers, videos, photos, contact information and more, making offline media come alive with online content. The Paperlinks mobile app is now available in the iTunes App Store, serving mobile landing pages on the go. For more information, go to www.paperlinks.com or visit the iTunes App Store.